JOLLY green ogre Shrek and his sweetheart Princess Fiona amassed nearly $3b at the global box office before heading into the fairytale sunset at the conclusion of yesteryear’s Shrek Ever After.

JOLLY green ogre Shrek and his sweetheart Princess Fiona amassed nearly $3b at the global box office before heading into the fairytale sunset at the conclusion of yesteryear’s Shrek Ever After.

All good things must come to an end – except in Hollywood where a single original idea deserves at least one sequel and a spin-off.

So it comes to pass with this computer-animated prequel to the Shrek films that traces the formative years of the sword-fighting feline before he crossed paths with the pungent ogre and wise-cracking Donkey.

The director (who helmed the third chapter in the saga) maintains a brisk pace, exploiting the 3D format in a rooftop chase sequence and a flamenco-style dance battle between the Casanova swordskitty and his rival, replete with slow-motion acrobatics.

The script plunders familiar characters from nursery rhymes and fairytales, putting a fresh spin on Jack & The Beanstalk.

The story begins with the young Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) being abandoned at an orphanage where kind Imelda (Constance Marie) raises the kitten as her own.

These beans are rumoured to grow a beanstalk that leads to the giant’s castle and the greatest treasure of all: the Golden Goose.

However, old rivalries between Puss and Humpty jeopardise the daring enterprise.

The colourful film is the cat’s meow.

It’s littered with neat flourishes, such as a saloon customer who avoids expository dialogue with the aid of tattoos on various parts of his body, or the strays in the Cat Cantina who form a makeshift orchestra.

Banderas purrs every line with unconcealed delight and he sparks fiery on-screen chemistry with Hayek’s feline fatale.

Galifianakis milks laughs and sympathy for his ovoid oddball, who laments at one point, “I’ve made a mess out of everything. I’m a rotten egg!”

The climactic ascent of the beanstalk ensures a slam-bang finale, suggesting there is plenty of life in the swashbuckling furball if DreamWorks Animation laps up a potential sequel.